22 hornet

[harley101]

Interested in 22 hornet (synthetic with sights), does anyone have one, what are your thoughts (I do not reload, do they shoot well with factory ammo, or does one need to really tailor their load to the rifle)?  Also, they seem hard to find, called several places, no has them on hand.  Any advice is appreciated, if I'm not asking the right questions, please clue me in, looks like a neat rifle.  Thank You for your help, John

[Daman]

I love my Hornet. It is a Topper 158. I shoot Winchester silver box if I buy factory ammo.

Daman

[Rustyinfla]

  It's up to you, but I looked at the price of ammo and bought the .223 instead.

[gcrank1]

The Hornet ammo is quite expensive, but if you dont reload and the .223 is too much, too fast, what can you do?
Consider the .22 WRM model. I really like mine, and Ive had 2 Hornets. Looks can be the same and I get enough hits at 150yd. for satisfaction.

[MS Mule]

I've really enjoyed my Hornet. I got the barrel thru the barrel accessory program last year. I get sub moa groups with handloads. 13 grs. of Lil'Gun and a 50 gr Sierra bullet. Not as much noise as my .223 and a little more punch than my .22 mag. It filled a niche in my squirrel/varmint hunting arsenal. Even with a premium bullet in my handloads I can hunt with it as cheaply as I can with my .22 mag. rimfire. I don't know what factory loads cost as I've never used them.

[jeepmann1948]

Check out cheaperthandirt for cheap 22 hornet ammo . they have the privi partisan cheap.I have a friend that uses it and he says it shoots fine. I reload mine but when I need some more brass I will try it .

[PHATINJUN]

The biggest problem I see with the H&R Hornets today is the twist it is 1-9 in all the new one I believe. So you will more than likley have to shoot at least 45 but maybe even heavier ammo to work well. I got an older Model 157 Hornet with a 1-16 twist and love it.If you end up handloading it really won't matter. You could consider a 22 mag if you could find one but the hornet has a tad more pop to it.But that pop has a price tag with factory ammo.Kurt

[harley101]

Thanks guys for all the information, definetly food for thought.
                                                 John

[ironglow]

 I bought some of that Partizan ammo locally, mainly for the brass $20 for 50 rounds isn't bad ! It shoots good although slightly less fps  than usual..... 45 grains @ 2427 fps.